


take away the pain (it doesn't hurt anymore)

by orphan_account



Series: it's beautiful, the glow on your skin; you're beautiful [5]
Category: GOT7
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-16
Updated: 2015-04-16
Packaged: 2018-03-23 05:15:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3755755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jinyoung has always experienced hardships, but some of the things he goes through end up being worth it all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	take away the pain (it doesn't hurt anymore)

**Author's Note:**

> A very, very big thank you to [luhaens](http://archiveofourown.org/users/luhaens/pseuds/luhaens), whose soulmate AU's updates I wait for religiously. ~~So I say with exceeding calmness, but when I saw that your newest chapter was dedicated to me, I screamed.~~

When Jinyoung is born, he has a _327_ on his inner wrist, and his parents smile down at him. He is an adorable boy, even though he is red and screaming and generally being a little menace, but so is every child that is born. His mother kisses him gently on the forehead, names him Jinyoung - cherished glory - and holds him close to her chest. He is her third child, the heir to the family line, and his sisters peer up at him with all the curiosity of toddlers.

When Jinyoung is a few days from his 1st birthday, a wail pierces through the manor of the Park family, and Park Kyungri rushes into her son's room to pick her child up, intent on shushing him back to sleep, only to see the second set of numbers on his wrist, this time a _214_ in the same colour as the _327_. She inhales sharply, then swallows, calming her son down as best as she could even though she was panicking on the inside.

When Jinyoung is 2 years old, his family is yelling and screaming and Jinyoung cannot understand most of the words his father is using, cannot understand why his mother his crying, cannot understand why his grandparents are staring at him like he's a monster. He cannot understand why his sisters are crowding around him, trying to stop the people who are coming towards him.

He feels hands grab him, and he sees his sisters running, screaming for him. He cries, the "Jinyoung- _ah_!" that his sisters repeat echoing in his ears, and he doesn't understand why he is being taken away. He wanted to be with his sisters, with his family. Was that really so bad?

When Jinyoung is 4 years old, he learns what the word _orphan_ means. He realizes that he is an orphan, thrown away by his family when he was 2 years old and unable to comprehend the fact that he was being abandoned. He realizes that that is why his sisters were crying, why his parents were screaming, why he was taken away from the family he once had.

Jinyoung still doesn't understand why his grandparents were staring at him as though he was going to attack them.

When Jinyoung is 6 years old, he understands why his grandparents didn't want him. He learns that it was them who drove him away, that it was them who had thought that he was a monster, an abnormality, just because he had two numbers on his inner wrist. _It'll be okay, though,_ he told himself. _It'll be okay, because behind the numbers are the names of two people who will love him for who he was. It'll be okay._

The other kids avoid him, as afraid of him as everyone else was. Jinyoung knows that there's nothing wrong with him, per se, other than the fact that he had 2 soulmates instead of one. Jinyoung is a bright child, and, call him mean, but everyone is not.

And really, who was one to call Jinyoung mean when the others were the ones who called him names, pulled at his hair, and told him that he was never going to be adopted because he was a freak?

When Jinyoung is 7 years old, he learns that maybe they are right. Every couple that walks through the doors of the orphanage take one look at him, perfect and poised and ready to take on the world, and smile at him like they're ready to sign the papers to take him home. But then they see the little note on the end of Jinyoung's profile, and they push up his sleeve to verify said fact. It's always at this point that their faces turn stony and Jinyoung is brought out of the room, all possibility of adoption gone.

It happens once, then twice, and soon Jinyoung is so sick of it that he doesn't bother trying to win them over anymore. Sometimes the couples take a tour of the orphanage to find someone that they'll like. They will squat down beside him, intent on getting to know him because he seems well mannered, but he will glare at them, show them the 6 digits on his inner wrist, and they'll back off immediately.

Jinyoung doesn't care anymore.

When Jinyoung is 9 years old, he sees people dancing on the television screen of the electronics store that he walks past everyday when he goes home - if you could call the nightmare of an orphanage a home - and he realizes that it's beautiful. He sees the way the dancers move in complete sync with each other, sees how they smile at one another and realizes that hey, maybe if he took up dancing, maybe he could have that, too.

When Jinyoung is 11 years old, he runs away from the orphanage. The people there don't care, Jinyoung has since learned, and they will not mind that he is no longer staying at the orphanage. If anything, they will probably be glad. Another less mouth to feed, and the monster of the orphanage gone. Jinyoung is 11 years old, has gone through more than any preteen deserves to go through, and he will fight for himself from now on.

He learns a lot of things about himself from the profile that he stole from the archives. He learns that he was born Park Jinyoung, the son of the Park conglomerate. He learns that he was cast aside like thrash because of the 2 numbers on his wrist, but Jinyoung has known that for some time now. He learns that his parents are still alive, and that the company will most likely go to his older sister because, according to official records, Park Hyungsik and Park Kyungri have no son.

Jinyoung finds that there is no use being bitter. Being bitter will not allow him to become Park Jinyoung, heir to the Park conglomerate. Being bitter will not allow him to be accepted by society. Being bitter will not do anything for him except make him more miserable than he already was, and Jinyoung didn't want that. He wanted to be free, he wanted to be someone.

When Jinyoung is 12 years old, he buys a sweat band. He keeps it around his wrist at all times, hiding the numbers from the world. He stays alive by sleeping on benches in parks and subway stations, eats at school and survives through the day with one meager meal, and a piece of bread if he is lucky enough to find some money, or if someone takes pity on him to buy him a meal, the young boy huddling in the corner of the street, in the cold that he has no defense against.

He has no one to talk to, no one to share his experiences with. He doesn't know what to do, and sometimes he wonders if leaving the orphanage was the right thing to do when he can't even make a living for himself. But of course, he was a child. He was a teenager, he was 12 years old, and no one would hire anyone that young, regardless of how easy the job was. He was pretty sure it was illegal.

Jinyoung breaks down, and he cries.

When Jinyoung is 13 years old, he starts to dance. He has no finesse, and he does everything freestyle. He cannot afford official lessons - can barely afford anything at all - but Jinyoung finds that as long as he has the music from the broken down radio he picked up, he can do anything. He starts to choreograph dances, the way he moves graceful, not bound to any genre but no less beautiful.

He still walks past the store that he used to walk by in the past, and the nostalgia that hits him every single time is almost overwhelming. He looks at the wide screens, sighing as he wonders if he will ever make it up there one day, ever appear on the screen as so many people have done. He doesn't let it get to him, though. One day he will make it. One day, all that he'd gone through will not matter.

When Jinyoung is 15 years old, he auditions for an entertainment company. He doesn't know what led him to this; He'd merely seen the poster, decided it was something he wanted to do, then spent a lot of money that he'd saved up for food in the future to buy himself clothes that he could wear to said audition. It is the most reckless thing he has done, apart from running away from the orphanage, and Jinyoung doesn't know what made him do it. He only knows that he _wants_ to do it, and he will do anything, even if only to try.

He makes it past the first round of auditions easily, to his surprise. The judges are impressed by his style of dancing, despite it not conforming to any specific style or genre, and he bows down so low they get a little flustered. He'd never received praise before, not in his entire life, and for professionals who are scouting people to train to become said professionals, it's such high praise that Jinyoung almost doesn't know what to do with himself.

When Jinyoung is 16 years old, he gets past the semi-finals of the audition. He realizes that the JYP of the entertainment company stands for Park Jinyoung, exactly like his own name. Granted, the _hanja_ was different, but the _hangul_ was the same, and it is enough for other people to stare at him and wonder if he was merely sucking up to the CEO of the company.

Not for the first time in his life, Jinyoung hates his own name.

He glances around the room where the other semi-finalists are being held, waiting for their turn, only to lock gazes with one of them. His stare is intense, almost like a glare, but Jinyoung quickly realizes it isn't when the fire that had always laid dormant, merely smouldering in his inner wrist, flares and shoots up his veins, searing pain that left no trails burning through him. Jinyoung nearly crumbles, clutching at the sweat band that holds his numbers from the world.

He slides it off as the other rips off the bandages that Jinyoung now realizes were there not because of injury, but because he was hiding what Jinyoung himself had been. _Im Jaebum_ is glowing back at him instead of the _327_ , and Jinyoung lets out a laugh of relief just as the other male - as Jaebum - grins at him.

When Jinyoung is 17 years old, he is up against the wall, his legs wrapped around Jaebum's waist, laughing as he is pinned against the structure behind it. They've been told that they will be debuting, Im Jaebum and Park Jinyoung, the two teenagers with famous names and the reputation that comes with it. They will be debuting together, the two soulmates, and Jinyoung couldn't be happier.

They're both laughing, their foreheads pressed against each other, and Jinyoung is so overwhelmed with happiness that he can't control himself. "Jaebum," He whispers reverently. "We're going to debut, Jaebum. _Together_. We're going to be together."

"Yes," Jaebum returns, his voice just as soft as Jinyoung's had been and equally in awe. "Together. With you." Jaebum laughs here, breathlessly, his hands trailing up Jinyoung's sides and pulling him closer, off the wall, down onto the mattress in the room that they share. He presses Jinyoung into it, hovering over him, laughing when Jinyoung laughs, melting into the kiss that neither can tell who initiates.

When Jinyoung is 18 years old, he debuts. He debuts with his leader, his lover, as the second J of JJ Project. He doesn't know how to feel, only knows that he is a ball of nerves that cannot be calmed down, and his partner - partner in every sense of the word - is as nervous as he is. They hold onto each other's hands, clutching almost painfully tight.

"We'll be okay," Jaebum comforts, but his voice wavers, and Jinyoung can tell he's only putting up a front for him. "We'll be okay. We're together, right? We can do anything together."

Jinyoung laughs a little at this, then squeezes Jaebum's hand. "Anything." When Jinyoung is 19 years old, they tell him that JJ Project is going on a hiatus because they're not doing well enough. Jinyoung doesn't know what to think. They'd only produced one album, only managed to go on to music shows for one promotion before the CEO decided that they weren't doing well enough to continue as a duo, so they were going to go back to being trainees because they weren't ready yet.

Weren't ready yet? Jinyoung thinks he's been ready since he was 11 and bursting out of the godforsaken orphanage with nothing in his backpack except an apple, his clothes, and a bottle of water.

Jinyoung can tell that Jaebum is blaming himself, because Jaebum is slightly older, because Jaebum is the leader of JJ Project, because Jaebum has always had a sense of responsibility that Jinyoung thinks is a little ridiculous sometimes.

"It isn't your fault, _hyung_." Jinyoung tells him, intent on letting Jaebum know how he felt. "We were part of JJ Project. We. The two of us. We didn't make it not because of you, but because of us. Don't blame yourself for this when we both know that you cannot single handedly take the blame for this."

Jinyoung is 19 years old, and he thinks that he wants to spend the rest of his life with Jaebum.

When Jinyoung is 19 years old, they tell him that JJ Project will join up with 5 other trainees to form a boy band called GOT7. It is JYP's first boy band since 2PM so many years ago, and the expectations that they have for them weigh down on the 2 of them so much they almost crumble. Jaebum is made leader again, and Jinyoung finds that he is not the second youngest, but the fourth, even if he is on par with Jaebum in terms of seniority in the industry.

They hold onto each other, on the night of the day that they are told. They are expected to lead the other 5, to be the ones to teach them how harsh the entertainment industry is, how much effort they had to put in, how sleep becomes a privilege and how they will have to work 5 times harder than they did as trainees. Otherwise Jinyoung thinks almost bitterly, you will be told that you're not doing well enough, put on hiatus, and made to go back to be a trainee again.

It's terrifying, the prospective of starting over. If they were going to be continuing with JJ Project again, Jinyoung thinks, it might not be that terrifying, but not be that nerve wrecking, but they will be starting as GOT7, and the fact that there are 3 foreign members does not ease their palpitating heartbeats. "We'll be okay, _hyung_ ," Jinyoung says, but he doesn't know if the words are for him or for Jaebum.

When Jinyoung is 19 years old - 19 is a long, long year - he pauses outside the training room where they will meet the 5 other trainees. He inhales deeply, pressing a chaste kiss to Jaebum's cheek, then they walk in together. There is a flash of pain that Jinyoung does not register, unlike the first time this happened, because in front of him, in front of _them_ , is the most beautiful boy that they've ever seen.

He doesn't need to look to see that the number on his inner wrist has transformed into a name, but he does anyway, and below the _Im Jaebum_ is an equally beautiful _Choi Youngjae_ , and Jinyoung doesn't know what to do with himself when the boy looks at them like they are the most perfect people that he has ever seen, like he was always blind before this and they are the sun. When Jinyoung is 19 years old, he presses Youngjae into the mattress and kisses him to show him how much he is to be loved and treasured. He can tell Jaebum is somewhere close by, lavishing as much attention on the boy as Jinyoung is. He kisses the tears away from the corner of Youngjae's eyes, whispering sweet nothings and his affection to the boy. He's so beautiful, as beautiful as Jaebum is, and Jinyoung can't help but wonder if this was what he would have found, this sheer, overwhelming happiness, if he hadn't been thrown out as a child.

When Jinyoung is 19 years old, he hesitantly tells Jaebum and Youngjae all that had happened to him since he was young, since he was thrown out. They turn from awestruck - learning that he was the heir of the Park conglomerate - to anger - learning that he was abandoned as a child - to sadness - learning that he had run away from the orphanage - to relief - that he was here with them now. Jinyoung is pulled into their arms for an embrace that ends up lasting the entire night and into the morning when he finishes his story, and he laughs, thinking that all the hardships that he had endured since he was 2 years and dragged away from his family was worth it.

When Jinyoung is 20 years old, he debuts again. He is no longer the second J of JJ Project, even though he thinks he will never stop being the Jinyoung of the hip hop duo, but 1 of the 7 of GOT7. He has been nicknamed the mother of the group, and he is standing on Jaebum's right, as his right hand man, as the one he trusts the most. He knows that Youngjae, the other half of his soul, is to Jaebum's left, knows that Mark and Jackson are looking over the younger boy. His own right hand holds the left of Bambam's, who is next to Yugyeom. Jinyoung wants to laugh at the dysfunctional family that he has managed to find himself, but he doesn't. Instead, he looks at the camera that's pointed at them, and smiles.

He's finally here. He's finally going to be on television, along with 6 other people he loved more than anyone else in this world. He's going to be on the screen of the televisions at that electronic store he used to go by every single day.

_"I'm GOT7's mother, Jr."_


End file.
